Fil-Am’s commitment to flag

There are 11 Fil-Ams reinforcing the Philippine national baseball team now competing in the four-way World Baseball Classic qualifiers in New Taipei City and according to general manager Marty Eizmendi, they’re all committed to play their hearts out for flag and country.

“It’s so nice to see them motivated,” said Eizmendi. “One of the Fil-Ams, Devon Ramirez, shaved his head and put the Philippine flag design on it, well, just the sun and the three stars.”

Eizmendi said he was touched by a letter he received from Ramirez, expressing his sentiments on wearing the Philippine colors in the qualifiers. Yesterday, the Philippines battled Thailand to open its campaign. The Philippines, Thailand, Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand are in a qualifying bracket to decide which team will make it to the first round of eliminations leading to a ticket to the finals in San Francisco next year.

Ramirez, 23, is a 6-1, 190-pound pitcher whose mother Tracey is half-Filipina. He played varsity baseball at California State-Los Angeles, College of the Canyons and California State-Dominguez Hills. Eizmendi said Ramirez will be given a tryout in the Nippon League after the qualifiers.

In his bio sheet, Ramirez said the person he most admires is his mother, a single parent whose father Victor Sau migrated to the US from Manila. “I was born in Los Angeles and started playing baseball when I was four years old,” he said. “Growing up, I played many sports which included basketball, golf and football. I’ve always had a passion for sports and I was never a kid who wanted to sit in the house. I grew up with a younger brother Jordan and a sister Maia. My mother raised us and did anything she had to in order for her kids to have what we wanted. Her father was from the Philippines and his name was Victor Sau. After coming to Manila, he changed his last name to Ramirez. When my mother was eight years old, her father passed away, leaving her mother (Eleanor Blair) to raise her and her two sisters and two brothers. I come from a huge family whose roots are spread from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Japan, Texas, Massachusetts, Canada and the Philippines. I’m the oldest in my generation and I have over 20 little cousins whom I love spending time with.”

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Ramirez said someday, he hopes to become a major leaguer. “I played all four years in college in the outfield as a center fielder,” he said. “In my last year of college, I became a two-way specialist, playing the outfield and also being a starting pitcher. I began to get interest from many professional teams such as the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. I’ve developed a 92 mph fastball, a big league 12 to 6 curve ball, an above average slider and change-up. I’ve also impressed many scouts to the point they want me to use them as references. Some of the scouts are Jake Wilson of Tampa Bay, Dennis Moeller of Los Angeles and Rex de la Nuez of Cincinnati. I hope that my passion and love for the game will give me that push to keep playing baseball professionally. I would love to be put in a position to give back to the younger generation and my roots. I hope one day, I can give back to the Philippines and teach the younger kids how to play the game and provide them with exposure to the rest of the world.”

As regards playing for the Philippines, Ramirez said it’s an honor. “I can’t explain in words what it means to be able to represent my grandfather’s country in the World Baseball Classic,” he said. “When hearing the news, my mother cried and was so happy that I was given this opportunity. I thank God every day for allowing me to represent the Philippines in the right way and I know this team will put the Philippines on the map and let the rest of the world know there are many great Philippine players.”

The other Fil-Ams in the roster are 6-4 Geno Espinelli, 6-2 Max Javate, 6-2 Alec Rosales, 5-7 Chad Nacapoy, 6-3 Leighton Pangilinan, 6-2 Andres Vazquez, 5-10 William Ireton, 5-9 Jonathan Laygo, 5-8 Edwin Jimenez and 5-11 Ryan Pineda. The only Fil-Ams with major league links are Espinelli who was a San Francisco Giants relief pitcher and Jimenez who is the Washington Nationals strength and conditioning coach. Those with minor league connections include Pangilinan of the Kannapolis Intimidators, Nacapoy of the Princeton Rays and Pineda of the Stockton Ports.

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Ramirez’ expression of allegiance comes on the heels of a painful commentary from writer Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo!Sports. Kaduk wrote about the Philippines “praying” for Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum to accept the offer of joining the national team and how New York Yankees pitcher Clay Rapada turned down the same invitation. Lincecum, 28, recently signed a two-year $40.5 Million contract to stay with the Giants until next season, rejecting a five-year $100 Million deal for the right to become a free agent. He’s a two-time Cy Young award winner and a two-time World Series champion pitcher. His mother Rebecca Asis is Filipina. Rapada, 31, posted an 8-0 record with 32 strikeouts with the Yankees this past season after stints with the Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. His father is from Cabangan, Zambales.

“Oh, this is so adorable,” wrote Kaduk. “The Filipino national baseball team is still holding out hope that Tim Lincecum will do his heritage a solid (missing word) and show up to pitch for the Philippines in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Yes, for the same Filipino team that has never appeared in the WBC and has already been turned down by Clay Rapada. Still, it’s such an earnest and hopeful effort that you almost hate to tell the officials that two-time Cy Young winners just don’t fly across the world to pitch in a WBC game a few weeks after winning a second World Series title with the Giants.

“There’s no word on Lincecum’s thoughts on playing for the Philippines or if he even knows about their wishes. It’s probably safe to say, though, that the Giants and Major League Baseball would prefer he pitch for the US with the championship round scheduled for AT&T Park in San Francisco next March. Having Lincecum coming out of the bullpen in front of the homecrowd as the US aims for its first WBC title would be pretty cool. But that’s assuming that Lincecum will even agree to play. Back in 2009, he was part of the large American pitching contingent that refused to disrupt their spring training preparation in order to represent the country. It looks like he’ll be disappointing two different countries if he makes the same decision this time around.”